DEFENCE AND SECURITY

21ST CENTURY WARFIGHTING

Future weapon systems must cater for a joint all-domain operations capability, integrating existing systems and strategically inducting new capabilities.

SYNERGIA FOUNDATION

RESEARCH TEAM

This article incorporates key insights from Lockheed Martin India.

The pace of technology is moving so quickly that it is fast outstripping existing concepts. Unless countries leverage artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, they will be left with platforms that will be quickly outclassed.

BREACHING THE AIR DEFENCES

While conventionally manned aircraft remains a potent threat, even more worrisome is a host of risks posed by UAVs, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and hypersonic missiles. The capacity to launch long-range missiles is no longer the exclusive domain of traditional military forces; even rogue nations, through their non-state proxies, are regularly indulging in long-range destruction through guided missiles and long duration, long-range drones.

Therefore, most defence manufacturers are focused on finding a suitable antidote in the form of a credible, affordable and foolproof air defence system that takes into account threats across the entire spectrum - from lowspeed off-the-shelf drones armed with explosives to high tech cruise missiles and even long-range ballistic missiles. Two market leaders immediately come to mind, which can be considered as the industry standard for such weapons systems.

One is the Russian S-400 that has created much furore globally and attracted the wrath of the U.S. through its 2017 Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). The S-400 Triumf is reportedly effective against all sorts of aerial platforms, including missiles, rockets, drones and manned aircraft. Unlike the Israeli Iron Dome system, it provides a shield over a much larger area, like an anti-access/ area-denial asset to protect military, political and economic assets. Some experts compare it with the U.S. Patriot, which is more attuned towards intercepting highspeed ballistic missiles.

The second system is the American Terminal High Altitude Area Defence (THAAD). THAAD defends against short, medium, and intermediate-range ballistic missiles. It provides a unique endo-and exo-ballistic defence capability and was specifically designed to provide a robust capability against a mass raid. The system uses proven technology to destroy a threat with direct impact – providing ensured negation of weapons of mass destruction, enhanced reliability and safety.

As air defence systems get more advanced and assure a degree of safety from a volley of ballistic missiles, the counter to them is sought by military designers. One solution to the ever denser anti-aircraft defence environments is the hypersonic vehicle.

Most defence manufacturers are focused on finding a credible, affordable and fool-proof air defence system that takes into account threats across the entire spectrum - from low-speed off-the-shelf drones armed with explosives, to high tech cruise missiles and even long-range ballistic missiles.

The term ‘hypersonic’ refers to an attribute of flight where a vehicle travels at speeds over Mach 5, which is five times faster than the speed of sound. Using hypersonic systems allows for more speed and manoeuvrability when it matters most, that is, at the ground defence interception stage. The high speeds of hypersonic missiles enable them to travel a great distance and quickly penetrate heavily defended air space.

All the major powers, U.S., Russia and China, have been engaged in an intense race to operationalise the hypersonic missile system. Last year, a news report in the Financial Times claimed that “China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic missile in August that circled the globe before speeding towards its target, demonstrating an advanced space capability that caught U.S. intelligence by surprise.” China rejected this claim, dubbing it as propaganda. Chinese spokesperson, Zhao Lijian said that the August test was a ‘spacecraft and not a missile,” to test routine reusable technology. China’s hypersonic glide vehicle, the DF-ZF, has reportedly been tested nine times since 2014, but China insists that none of the tests was in space. Russia has also been successfully testing a hypersonic missile, although details are not available in the public domain.

As per American market leaders Lockheed Martin, their scientists and engineers are developing a range of hypersonic solutions. This technology provides capabilities important in this current threat environment but also comes with unique technical challenges. In the bigger picture of national security, hypersonic systems will need to communicate with other assets to maximise safety, performance and situational awareness across air, space, sea, land, and cyber. Highlighting the problems associated with developing such an advanced system, Mr Robert Lightfoot, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Space says, “One of the challenges to fully communicating the bigger integration value is that the innovations that are taking place are intangible. Artificial intelligence, machine learning is more amorphous and ambiguous in terms of how the technology allows us to do things.”

The synthesis of data is key. Says Mr. Lightfoot, “By developing these integrated systems that allow the satellites, aircraft, and ships to seamlessly communicate with one another, while not quite as interesting as seeing the actual platforms, will be the differentiator going forward.”

DIGITAL CONNECTIVITY FOR JOINTNESS

Many of today’s military systems and platforms were designed to operate in a different technological era and are behind the digital connectivity found in everyday life. All major platforms of the 21st Century must be networked to enhance their performance. Every day, the boundaries of science are being pushed to define new frontiers. The challenges, and opportunities, lie in enabling joint all-domain operations by providing situational awareness, command and control across land, sea, air, space and cyber. Modern military assets perform best together across these domains and also across allied nations. must be integrated to bring cutting edge technology to the modern, highly contested battlespace. The Americans are working on a concept called the Joint All Domain Operations (JADO) that will connect all existing and future platforms to bring a joint operational concept to reality.

In such a networked battlespace, data dominance would be the crucial element. Data will become a strategic asset as it will be instrumental in leveraging a host of technologies - open system architecture, directed energy, AI and machine learning to dominate the battlespace. Military 5G or 5G.MIL technology will be in the forefront to connect all assets and enable prompt and decisive action across domains. 5G MIL is expected to be faster, more reliable with low latency and ideal to meet the stringent demands of a 21st Century battlefield.

Modern Western nations have already put this into practice through high tech platforms like the F-35, which is now in service with the U.S. and many of its allies. The platform uses advanced sensors and connectivity to gather, analyse and seamlessly share critical information across platforms, services and allied nations.

As regards legacy platforms that do not have this 21st-century connectivity designed into them, there are stand-alone pods. These pods make available dedicated data links for pod-to-pod communications, establishing near-instantaneous range to targets and reducing the workload on hard-pressed combat pilots. Their data links allow pilots to share infrared data across a secure network, further reducing the timelines for engaging fleeting targets by multiple platforms.

While data collection, analysis and sharing are important in a networked battlespace, protecting it is equally vital for the success of the mission. Cyber protection has to be embedded in all modern platforms in the design stage itself, from the component up to the overall system architecture. Called ‘Hardened Security’, these systems provide the edge to cloud protection to vital information and defend them from complex cyber threats.

CONCLUSION

21st Century Warfare brings together the technologies being developed in the physical world – where the defence industry excels – and augments and accelerates those advancements with digital world technologies available in the commercial industry. A synthesis between the two will lead to accelerated growth in designing and the fielding of ever more modern platforms in the shortest development cycles.

WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE HYPERSONIC MISSILES OF THE US, RUSSIA AND CHINA?

USA

AGM-183 ARRW Top speed

Mach20 (15345.4mph)

Range

1,000 miles

Cruising altitude

unknown

Launch platform

B1-B bomber

RUSSIA

3M22 Zircon Top speed

Mach9 (9,800mph)

Range

621 miles

Cruising altitude

91,863ft

Launch platform

B1-B bomber

CHINA

DF-17 Top speed

Mach5 (3,806 mph)

Range

1,600 miles

Cruising altitude

196,850ft

Launch platform

Ground vehicle

CHINA

Fractional Orbital bombardment Sys Top speed (21,000mph) Range Unlimited Cruising altitude low earth orbit Launch platform land based rocket